Ice for a kill

[Trophyhntr2002]

Do you guys fill your coolers with dry ice before hiking in? If so if you kill something and pack it out. How do you put the ice on the meat without it damaging the meat because of the dry ice being so cold. Or is that not a problem?

 

[Felix40]

No, just fill them with regular ice. A good cooler will last well over a week

 

[beauhunter]

I’ve always brought multiple coolers and had one dedicated for ice. I just freeze gallon jugs and keep them in that one cooler. It helps to have the cooler prechilled before putting the “blocks” in. I leave the coolers in the pickup at the trailhead. If I’m successful then I begin dispersing the ice and meat. If temps are really hot I will place the blocks on top of the meat. Try to park in an area that provides constant shade and you can also cover the ice cooler with a blanket or old sleeping bag. It’s cheaper and IMO less of a hassle than dealing with dry ice. I almost always hunt within a half day’s drive of home too so take this with a grain of salt if you’re traveling quite a distance to hunt

 

[Marble]

If it gets to freezing at night we'r never worry about. We lay a thick old sleeping bag down, most goes on top and bags go over them. 24 hours later at the butcher they are still so cold your hands will get numb.

 

[BullElk]

If you go the dry ice route put it on the bottom of the cooler and cover it with paper bags.

 

[Cornbore]

Don’t worry about it until you kill something, then look at the weather and go hard from there.

 

[wytx]

Should be cool enough during elk season to hang your meat then ice it for the return trip home.
Dry ice in the bottom of your cooler with ice jugs on top until needed.
I would have a plan before the elk is down.
Ice in a cooler will last at least a week , keep the cooler out of the direct sun.
Dry ice is readily available in Wyoming at most grocery stores.

 

[rayporter]

plain ice and a chunk of dry ice will keep the ice solid and very cold.
on the way home [ for 30 hour drive ] I use dry ice and some of the meat will be froze but not hurt.

I don't use coolers.- I just stack the meat with dry ice around it and cover with sleeping pads and gear.

 

[theCaptain]

Hot air rises and cold air sinks. Bags of ice will melt faster because the cubes have more surface area than large chunks of ice like frozen blocks or milk jugs. Fill cooler entirely with frozen blocks or jugs and consume as much air space as possible and do not open cooler. Once you have an animal on ground, follow the normal meat hanging and cooling protocol. Place meat at bottom of cooler and frozen blocks or jugs on top. Again, consume as much air space as possible in the cooler to maximize the cooling potential. Also agree with pre-chilling cooler if possible. Remember, you are trying to cool air inside of an insulated box, the less air to cool, the better.